Not My Last Chance
by The6thAnon
Summary: Series of 10/Rose one-shots. While most are fluffy, the topics range from galaxies to Mario Kart to just staying in bed a little longer. Ratings, warnings, and summaries begin in the later chapters. Feel free to leave a request in a review.
1. The Suit

10/Rose. Drabble. Fluff.

Rose goes on a romp through The Doctor's closet and gets more than what she bargained for.

* * *

Rose didn't like the blue suit that much. It didn't fit him—well, it _fit _him. Folded collar, pinstriped pants, oh, it certainly worked for The Doctor, but something was a bit off about it.

_Well_, Rose thought to herself. If _he _was going to change his look, she would just have to step up her game. Rose walked into the TARDIS's closet, her hands on her hips. She'd put her things in the back row once she'd gotten settled in, but there were some racks she hadn't even looked at. The rows stretched into the back of the gallery-like room, a multitude of mismatched colors and patterns suspended on metal. She sifted through a collection featuring frilly sleeves and ornamental buttons.

_Much too medieval_, Rose commented. _I need something modern, something chic_. She laughed to herself. Modern. Everything and nothing was modern with The Doctor. They were constantly old hat to the future and revolutionary to the past. She pushed past a pale yellow sundress and came upon his dressing table.

There it was, his old suit, draped across a hanger. She ran a hand over a sleeve and felt her breath settle in her chest. It was worn, a bit wrinkled—The Doctor kept his beloved TARDIS spotless when it came to the controls, but he could certainly use a lesson in cleaning up. She curled her fingers around the hem and gently pulled the suit from its perch.

She'd been so many places with him in this suit. He geared up for changes in atmosphere all the time, but when he took the protection off, it was always him, grinning, his hair in a thousand different directions, his collar sticking up. She closed her eyes and hugged the fabric to herself. It even smelled like him—like the exhales of a newborn star dotted with the sparks of excitement. Rose settled herself on the chair by the dresser and let herself relax. There could be little in the world more comforting than this.

* * *

The Doctor pushed open the closet door.

"Rose, are you in here? I've a galaxy ready and waiting but you're nowhere to be found." He walked from the doorframe. "If I'd known you'd get so caught up in the TARDIS, I would've just taken you for a tour!" Then he saw her, curled up on a chair, her hair piled on her face like sunflower petals. She hugged his old suit like a teddy bear. "Alright, Rose, you've made your point. I'll stop with the blue." He walked closer and pulled his trench coat from his shoulders. "But don't you think it's nice that I'm the same color as my Sonic Screwdriver?" He draped the coat over his companion. Rose smiled in her sleep. Blue suit, brown suit—either way, it was the same old Doctor.


	2. Still Me

"Are you mad at me for regenerating?" The Doctor sat behind Rose, his hands clasped behind his back. "Rose?" She didn't look at him. She cradled a picture with her fingertips like it might bring back more than a memory. The Doctor knew better than to get too close to her. She needed to think, just like he needed to recharge. But he clenched his fingers and pressed them to his head. There must be something within his thoughts to prove that he was still her Doctor. "Rose." She closed her eyes and put the photograph down.

"I'm still—"

"Can you remember? What you were like before you…changed." She trailed off. She'd run from a lot of danger when she was with The Doctor, but there was the rescue, the relief, the power she held when they smiled at each other. She looked at her hands. He'd made her feel capable of taking on Daleks, of running with the heat of rescue in her breath. She'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS for him! And now he wasn't even…

"Rose, I'm still The Doctor. I have all his memories—I know everything he ever knew. I can take you anywhere." He swallowed. _If only you let me._

"But will you save me? If I get abducted by another alien species, will you come after me?"

"Of _course _I will." A rush of despair welled inside him—she didn't mean to hurt him, but the fact that she didn't know one bit of him ripped through his hearts. _I know you_, he thought. _I know the looks you keep on your face when you think I'm not watching, but you don't even know if I'll protect you_. He inched closer to her, the tails of this bathrobe dragging on the carpet. "I will always keep you safe. Do you really, really think I'm the type of man who wouldn't keep you safe?" He looked at her, more than dismayed. Rose kept her eyes on him as he rubbed his hands over his temples and passed them through his hair.

"Rose, I may not be the man you met, but I know what he felt. And I still—"

"You still…?" She held onto hope that he would say something miraculous, something that would change everything. He was The Doctor—he did that kind of thing all the time. But he only smiled hesitantly and stood up like he was trying to make things right.

"Come with me." He paused and let his desperation do the talking. "And you'll find out."

_"You could come with me." _Rose saw the old Doctor before her, standing in the doorway of his spaceship with a world of promise in his outstretched hand. She looked at the new one. His head was tilted, his arms stretched in the beginning of a hug. He was endearing in a child-like sort of way, but there was still something familiar about the way he talked to her. She stood on her tiptoes so she was eye to eye with him. There was hope etched into his face, understanding swirling in his pupils. Without realizing it, Rose raised a hand to his cheek. The Doctor took in a breath but kept eye contact.

"OK. I will." She took a step back from The Doctor and jabbed him in the chest. "But don't think this means I've forgiven you."

"You will. In time. Get it? In _time_?" Rose rolled her eyes, but at least she was smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. But this time you're sticking around for a while. You hear that?" She walked out of the living room, a haughty jump to her step.

"Of course, Rose Tyler. Anything for you." He examined the sleeve of the robe and sniffed it. Stick around he would, but first, he needed to change into something a little more…Time Lord-y.


	3. Donna

"Tell me about Donna." Rose laced her hand with The Doctor's and turned to him. He gave her a soft smile and she scooted from the couch cushion to lean against his shoulder. "You liked her a lot, didn't you?"

"Oh yes," he said quietly. "She was brilliant. Not in the way you are, but in a sharp, no-nonsense kind of way. Well, you're no-nonsense."

"Seems you like the no-nonsense type." She elbowed him, her grin filling up all the space in his hearts.

"Oh, you know me. I need my companions to knock some sense into me sometimes."

"And you got the best."

"I got the best," The Doctor agreed. "I got you." He pressed his lips to the bangs above her forehead. They stayed like that, barely moving, the only sound the rustle of upholstery as Rose moved closer to The Doctor. "She found me twice. Just like you, she couldn't leave me behind. Went looking for trouble." He shook his head. "She shouldn't have."

"Hey, Doctor." Rose put her hands on his shoulders. "It was worth it to her." He kept his eyes closed. _She can't remember without burning up, just like I can't meet people without turning their lives into time bombs. _

"I messed her up."  
"You didn't!" She pushed herself upright, determined to look him in the eye. "She loved being with you, didn't she? Seeing what space looked like close up?"

"Yes," he breathed. "It was more than she imagined for herself, but she believed in it all anyway." Rose took her hands from his shoulders and laid them on his hearts.

"She made you better. And you made her better." She leaned closer. "She has to remember that somewhere. Somewhere that doesn't hurt." She wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back, but slowly, like the slow smoothness of her hands could barely reach him. "Somewhere like this." She stayed in his arms as long as it took, just like she always did. And when he tightened his arms around her like they were building a star together, she knew he would be OK.

"Rose?"

"Yeah?" He stroked her hair as gently as he would touch sunlight.

"You made me better, too."


	4. May I Have This Flight?

"I think I got it!" He spun from the table and rushed to the control panel. "Usage signs, normal, good…Good morning, Rose!" She smiled at him with her sleepy pair of eyes.

"'Morning. What're you up to?"

"Wood!" He threw up his hands. "Got a new setting for the Sonic Screwdriver." The controls beeped, and he scurried to the buttons to give them a gentle press. "Oh yes, you like that, don't you?" Rose rolled her eyes. Between the Screwdriver and the TARDIS, she was never quite alone with The Doctor.

He pulled the tool from the wires connecting it to the center controls. "Let's give it a go." He pointed it at the TARDIS doors with a flourish. Instead of revealing the rolling hills of a new planet or even cracking open for a bit of fresh air, the doors stayed still—and Rose levitated.

"Doctor?"

"Mm, strange…come on, now!"

"Doctor!"

"Yes?" He snapped to attention, glee spreading over his features as he saw the predicament. "Why, Rose! You're flying."

"And it's only eight in the morning." She rubbed her eyes. "A bit early for defying gravity if you ask me."

"Brilliant!" He stood on his tiptoes and circled her. Rose wanted to be mad with him, just a little bit, but being eye level with her Doctor made it hard to hold in her smile. Besides, she was in the air! She tested it out with a few steps. It felt just like walking on sidewalk—easy, really. Rose jumped and landed a foot above the ground. She laughed aloud. "Want me to turn it up?" The Doctor asked from behind a few knobs and switches.

"This is great!" She skipped around the TARDIS's panels and reached out a hand. "Join me, Doctor."

He pointed the Screwdriver at the ceiling and raised himself up. He couldn't resist taking her hand and spinning her. "Bet you've never been to a dance like this."

"Maybe I'd have gone to those school formals if they had anti-gravity." At the mention of itself, the force keeping them upright let go.

"I've got you." He winced. And the floor's got me." She giggled.

"I like that setting."

"Me too. I think we'll keep it."

"Mm." She gave him a quick kiss and relaxed into his arms. "Just don't go using it on me when I'm not paying attention."

"Don't think you'll want to look down, then." Rose took her eyes off her Doctor and looked around. They were almost at the ceiling of the TARDIS. "You have to admit, nice view."

"You're better," she mumbled, settling back into his arms. He patted her back. Time and time again, he would show her miracles, and she'd still choose to look at him.


	5. Let Me Hold Your Hand

She wasn't used to him yet. Sure, she liked the new Doctor—she'd followed him through the TARDIS doors to a gleaming New New York, but being around him made her antsy. He was jumpy, more sporadic, and she couldn't tell if she liked it.

"Let's go. The city awaits!" He pulled her up with barely a second's notice and she stumbled, laughing to herself as they ran.

He didn't let go of her hand.

"Doctor?"  
"Yeah?" He turned to her, not failing a bit in his speed.

"Nothing!" She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. "Not wondering where we're going exactly or anything!" He pulled his hand from hers and spun on his heel, grinning. Rose put her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. _You'd think that with all this running, I'd be a bit more in shape_, she thought to herself. _Look at him, all perfect and excited and bursting_.

"We're going to something new, Rose." He walked back to her, his eyes squinting against the sunlight. "Not just new for us, but for people who have lived here their whole lives." Looking into his eyes, Rose felt the barriers that had kept her back dissolve. To hell with it—she'd become new for him, too.

* * *

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

They sat with their legs dangling out of the TARDIS's doorframe. A sunset unfolded in front of them, orange and yellow and crimson against a blackened sky. Rose felt The Doctor run his thumb over hers.

"I'm glad you didn't leave." She leaned into the crook of his neck.

"You know I wouldn't do that."

"I wasn't sure."

"Neither was I, but now…I don't see how I could've doubted you." They floated above the grass until the light melted behind the buildings.

She didn't let go of his hand.


	6. Forever

"Finally," Rose muttered. "Asleep at last." She crept to the central TARDIS controls and put on the stabilizers. The Doctor wasn't a huge fan of things going smoothly, but Rose needed the ship quiet so he would stay asleep.

_"It's just a short trip, right outside the Earth's atmosphere. C'mon, it'll be my final exam."_

That's what she told him when she asked for flying lessons—it was just to get close to home once in a while. She swallowed and willed her hands to steady as she navigated the TARDIS nearer to Earth. It wasn't flying through time and space that made her nervous; there was something else nagging at her thoughts and pumping her heart too fast.

"Rose?" The Doctor said slowly, rubbing his eyes from the after effects of his nap. "Did we…move?"

"Yeah, just…flew us to Earth."

"Feeling homesick?" He smiled and ambled closer to her. "Understandable. Well _done_ flying! I didn't even notice! Slept right through it…" His voice faded. He took in Rose's shaky hands, the bite in her lip. "Rose, did you not want me to notice?"

"Yeah, um…" She twisted her hands behind her back. "Got something to show you." She pulled him to the TARDIS doors and cracked them open gingerly. She sighed with relief. She was just barely off course, the Earth's sphere floating in front of them. _You can do this, Rose Tyler. You've told him so many times. It's just once more_. "Let's sit for a while." She all but pushed him down in her eagerness, and she snapped into place beside him.

"Flying the TARDIS certainly made you jumpy," he joked to her, twisting a strand of her golden hair between his fingers. "But I think there's something else." She took a deep breath and The Doctor faced her. Whatever it was, it was making his Rose _very _fidgety.

"Yes, well…Remember when we met?" She stared at the planet beneath them, and he did the same. "I was there." She pointed at England. "And I never thought I'd get to see the Earth like this." She took his hand in two of her own and took another breath. "Doctor, I always told you I'd be here forever." He pursed his lips. _Don't tell me you're leaving me now, little Rose_.

"And I just wanted to make it official." For once, Rose got to take The Doctor by surprise as she pulled a small, dark blue box out of her jacket pocket. "Doctor—will you travel with me forever?" She opened the box to reveal two intertwined blue rings. He put a hand to Rose's face and his other over the box to keep it safe.

"Always, Rose. As long as you're here, I'll be here." He let her put a ring on his finger, and then he did the same for her. When they kissed, the rings lit up, but they were too engrossed in each other's happiness to notice.

When they broke apart, she smiled at him, her tongue between her teeth.

"What're you thinking?"

"When you said forever, I thought you were going to say you wanted to go home," he admitted sheepishly. "But this is a lot better."

"Yeah?" He touched his ring finger to hers.

"Yeah."


	7. Hide-and-Seek

"Gotcha, Rose Tyler!" He lunged for her arm, but she pulled back, laughing.

"Not yet, Time Lord. Your TARDIS is on _my _side!"

"Nonsense! She likes me more."

"Oh yeah? Explain this." With one last tongue-between-her-teeth smile, Rose Tyler walked behind a column and disappeared. He sauntered to the hiding place, ready to get this game wrapped up: 1 for The Doctor, 0 for Rose.

"I'm right behind you," he whispered, the smile evident in the tone of his words. "Three, two, one—HA!" He pulled himself around the pillar, his shoes squeaking from the friction, and found an empty shadow where Rose should be. "Rose? Aw, how'd you do that?" Carefully, Rose lowered herself from the pillar's support as The Doctor examined the structure. "You can't be inside." She landed on the ground silently and crept up behind him.

_Three, two, one…_

"Got you!" She jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I win this round for sure."

"Rose!" He spun around, grinning, as his companion held on for dear life.

"Haha, stop it!" He let her down gently, watching as she regained her balance before him. He'd come back to her, but there was one thing he had to check first.

* * *

"I've got my eye on you," he muttered to the console. He pressed a few buttons. In all his years of flying the TARDIS, it had never helped _him _win at hide-and-seek. Rose tapped him on the shoulder.

"Come along, Time Lord. I've got something a little more interesting than your spaceship." She dragged him from the controls and kissed him. His hands found their way into her hair, tumbling and curling up until she broke away. "So: who's the best at hide-and-seek?" She waited, an inch from her Doctor, waiting for the words that would give her a little victory.

"OK, Rose," he said, wrapping his arms around her back. "It's you. But round two's just begun." Breathless and more than a little flushed, Rose kissed him back. Oh, she certainly wasn't letting him get away without a fight.


	8. Love, Ten Times Over

"Doctor? What is it?"

"We've got an invitation," he said, turning his psychic paper over. "But I don't think we're ready…"

"Ready for what?" She came up behind his shoulder to read the message. "It looks like a regular invitation."

"I don't think it's that, Rose." He sat down, and she settled into the seat next to him. "The race that's hosting—they live off of honesty and emotional truth. The entire atmosphere is filled with these particles that reduce your inhibition." He brushed a curl of hair from her cheek. "I just want you to be ready." She took a deep breath.

"Alright, so…I wouldn't be able to lie?"

"Right—or hide anything. And humans've never been here before. You might have some side effects." She nodded again.

"So…"

"So I thought we'd give it a practice run." He opened his hand to reveal two dark orange spheres, identical down to their minuscule size. Rose squinted at them.

"Are these the particles?"

"They're bundles of 'em. The concentration's not nearly as high, so the effects will be over in ten minutes. And I'll be there with you." He passed one to her and linked their arms. "Whenever you're ready." Rose counted down and the two swallowed them like shots. He smiled.

"Feels a little fuzzy, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, almost like we're…falling asleep." Within seconds, Rose had sunk into The Doctor's arms.

* * *

_Rose woke up to wind. She tried to wrap her arms around herself and found that she was nothing more than a voice. She couldn't even open her eyes._

_"Doctor?" She was worried, immensely worried, all of a sudden—scared as a child is scared of the monsters under their bed, scared as a parent is scared of losing their child. Rose tried to wipe the tears away from her face before remembering she couldn't. She wasn't even sure she was crying. Rose didn't have a body, but she could feel the ache of loneliness clawing its way out of her, tumbling into sobs. _

_"Doctor!" She called again, the strength of her voice ebbing by the third try. "Doctor, please…"_

_"I'm here."_

_At those words, the rain inside her let up. _

_"I thought I'd lost you."_

_"It must be the particles amplifying everything. I…thought I'd lost you, too." She heard the rasp of his voice, the snag on the word "lost." It didn't matter now. Her Doctor was here. It was close to bursting, how relieved she was that he was back. _

_"Why are we just voices?" She was giddy, lightheaded. _

_"Dunno. Maybe because…"_

_"Hey, d'you feel something burning?" _

_"Yeah…" He chuckled. "Just tried to stick my hand out."_

_"Me too! Seriously though—you feeling that?"_

_"Yeah…Oh."_

_"What?"  
"We're being harvested!"_

_"What?"_

_"Try not to feel!"_

_"What? Try not to feel what?"_

_"Everything! I'll get us out of here soon." Rose caught her breath. "Forgot. No Sonic Screwdriver without my hands."_

_"You said we'd be out of here in 10 minutes."_

_"I'm sorry, Rose, but we'll just have to wait. We're not in any real danger. 10% isn't enough to harvest." He gasped. "But it's weird, all these emotions magnified."_

_"Tell me about it. It's…everything." She cried softly. "All the loss, it's so sad. But you, everything I have for you. It's perfect." The Doctor cried with her._

_"I'm here," Rose reminded him. "You always tell me you're here, but I'm here, too."_

_"Yeah," he said, his voice broken like ice in the spring. "I know you are."_

* * *

Rose shifted in The Doctor's arms as she woke up.

"Well."

"Well."

"That was 10%." The Doctor looked at Rose. They were still in each other's arms, eyes barely adjusted to the light of the TARDIS. "Only a hint of the actual concentration."

"I think we'll respectfully decline, yeah?" The Doctor nodded, examining the message once more.

"How'd they even get onto the psychic paper? Not many people can do that."

"People on drugs like can probably talk to anyone." She laughed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Not really a fan of that one." She looked at her Doctor. She didn't need an emotional amplifier. Being with The Doctor gave her all the emotions she needed—including this one. She punched him in the arm.

"Hey!"

"Don't scare me like that again." He looked over at her and cupped her chin in his hand.

"OK."


	9. A Nightmare

"Rose?" He knocked on her door, barely tapping the wood with his knuckles. He didn't make a habit of this, honestly, coming into her room after she went to sleep, but there was an itch in his system; something wasn't right. "You OK?" She shifted, mumbling for her Doctor with the urgency of a fire alarm in a theater. "Shh, I'm here. Not going anywhere."

_"I'm sorry, Rose." The Doctor looked at his hands sadly. He'd considered the golden light beautiful once, the particles evidence of his race's resilience. Now it meant death. It didn't matter that The Doctor would come back, alive and vibrant as ever. It wouldn't be him. The Doctor that came back would never be able to love Rose as much as he did. _

_"Don't go. Please don't go." She was crying—he hated it, hated that he was making her cry and he wouldn't even live long enough to fix it._

She was shifting, sniffling in her sleep. The Doctor smoothed her hair down with his thumb, wishing he could go into the dream and make things right. What was she fighting right now? And why wasn't he there?

_"Rose Tyler." He said her name. "Rose Tyler." And again, feeling it, letting it go like the breath before a birthday wish. "I love you." _

_"And I love you." The particles engulfed his hands. _

_"I don't have much time. Stand back."_

_"No." He pushed himself away from her. "No! Don't go! _Please_!" _

_"I don't want to hurt you."_

_"You'll hurt me just by leaving!"_

_"Rose, please!" She took his hands anyway, kissed both of them before he was fully gone. Tears crawled down her face. Gravity seemed slow here, everything seemed on hold except the regeneration. And it wasn't fair. _

_"What will I do without you?" But The Doctor never got to answer her question. Light burst from his face, and Rose doubled over. Her Doctor was lost, gone, faded. Someone was taking his place._

"Shh. It's OK, Rose. It's OK." Rose woke up to The Doctor's voice. He'd climbed onto her bed and taken her into his arms, rocking them both like she was a toddler. He looked down at her. "You're safe now."

Rose blinked. She ran a hand along the side of his face.

"It's really you?"

"Of course it's me." Relief sunk in and she let her hand drop. "Rose, what were you up against? What made you so sad?" He whispered to her. She tried to settle, to convince herself that this was real.

"You…regenerated." The Doctor closed his eyes. His Rose, his _perfect _Rose. The nightmare that haunted her was losing him.

"I'm not letting that happen." He hugged her tighter, resolved to keep her in his arms the rest of this night. "As long as you're around, Rose Tyler, I'm not going anywhere without you."


	10. Sunspotting

The Doctor circled the controls, snapping levers and pressing buttons on impulse as Rose followed him.

"Of all the planets and all the galaxies, what are we looking for?" He pointed at Rose.

"A sunset!"

"A _sunset_! And not just any kind of sunset." He pointed at her again, the flick of his wrist revealing how he was enjoying this a little too much.

"Mm…A blue one."

"A blue one! Well, that's different." He turned a knob and raised his eyebrows as it beeped at him. "Touchy, touchy."

"It's one I haven't seen before. Can I help this time?" She held her hand above the console, waiting for The Doctor's approval as he muttered to himself.

"Hm?" He snapped his head up. "Yeah, put your hand right there. Good." He brushed his hand against her shoulder. She loved it when he did that, reassurance blossoming from his fingertips. "We're almost there!" The TARDIS jerked to the side, dislodging The Doctor from his dance around the controls.

"You sure about that?"

"Forgot! There's a solar flare!"

"You couldn't have remembered that earlier?"

"Nope!" He twisted a knob. Rose's fingers slipped from her button. Without thinking, she grabbed onto a lever—and the TARDIS stopped.

Rose let go, laughing as she fell back. The Doctor caught her, a smile spreading across his face.

"That was…impressive, Rose. What'd you do?"

"Pressed that lever there." He examined it, his eyes widening.

"But that lever doesn't _work_."

"For me it does!" She stuck her tongue out, just barely peeking past her teeth.

"The TARDIS must like you then." He rubbed the center column fondly. "She'll trust you with just about anything if she trusts you with herself." He pulled away. Rose stood proudly, her hands curling through her hair.

"Maybe I should fly, then." She walked closer to him, slowly.

"Maybe you should." He took a sauntering step, copying her.

"Maybe you should teach me," she whispered, tracing his jawline with her fingertips.

"Maybe I should." He leaned closer and raised his eyebrow. Rose bridged the gap and kissed him, her hands working their way into his hair, ruffling his already messy tufts. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her back, letting her fall into him. When she broke away, her smile taking over, The Doctor stepped back, his daze making him dizzy.

"Where were we?"

"Blue sunset," Rose answered, her hands already on the TARDIS controls.  
"Right! What're you doing?"

"Flying the TARDIS." She started up an engine just to make her point. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Go on, get some rest. I've seen you do it millions of times."

As soon as he turned away, utterly baffled, the TARDIS gave a jolt.

"Rose, are you sure you can do this?" He punctuated his sentence by lunging for a support and clinging to it. "I know you're a very capable woman, but is this the time to prove it?"

"Say that again, Time Lord."

"I _said_, you're remarkable, but do you really need—oh." He let go of the TARDIS and massaged his arms. "We've stopped."

"_Now _we're there." She pushed down the lever that had given her confidence. "Nice going," she whispered to the TARDIS. She took The Doctor's arm. "I can see why you like talking to her."

"Not going about replacing me, are you?"  
"As if I could! C'mon, let's see what we came for." Rose buzzed with anticipation. This was their personal game, sunspotting, but they could only do it every once in a while so sunsets didn't lose their flavor. It was like eating chocolate but only tasting a centimeter at a time—devastatingly slow, but so, so worth it.

* * *

They sat with their legs dangling out of the TARDIS doors.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rose sighed to The Doctor as he leaned into her shoulder. "It's like looking into the birth of something cold in a world that's overheating." She wrapped an arm around The Doctor. "Are there worlds like that?"

"Oh, yes," he mumbled. He was quiet, staring into the edges of the sun like was trying to see where the sky ended and the

"You OK?"

"Yes, just thinking." Rose waited for him to go on—The Doctor rarely needed any prompting, she'd learned. "You're right for me," he explained. "So right. No one's ever fit me so well." Rose blushed against the soft blue sky. Pink skin and blue air—they made such lovely compliments, he thought to himself. Just like him and Rose.


	11. Waiting For The Bus In The Rain

"What happened to the TARDIS?" Rose yelled after The Doctor, her boots splashing in the puddles. Rain splattered against the gravel, the clouds above them split and bursting like overstuffed pillows.

"Relocated! Must've," The Doctor panted, scanning the area with his Sonic Screwdriver. "Sometimes does it if she's in danger—"

"What, is the rain dangerous now?" The Doctor grabbed her hand and they scrambled through the street until they reached an empty bus stop. The cover was hardly perfect—rivulets streamed from the holes in the canvas, but at least it was something.

"Very dangerous," The Doctor confirmed, stowing his Screwdriver away. "It puts me close to you."

Rose's mouth twitched in an attempt to smile as she shivered the rain from her arms. Droplets wormed their way past her hair into her shirt collar, cold pinpricks pushed into her skin. The Doctor took off his coat.

"Let me help with that," he offered quietly. He shook out the fabric and draped it over the two of them, huddling against the wind. Rose smiled. She knew what to do with this.

She put her hands on his shoulders, her breathing still tinged with the shortness of a run. He gathered her hair in his hands and abandoned it as she slid her hands to his chest. She could feel a blush spread from her cheeks to where she and his hands intersected. His fingertips traced the curve of her neck.

"Rose Tyler," he said, stopping with his hands resting on her shoulders.

"Hm?"

"Feeling better?" She grinned.

"Much better, thanks."

The bus pulled up to the stop, wheezing against the rain's cold whispers. Rose looked at her Doctor. She took his hand.

"Shall we?" He smiled. Their TARDIS could've been anywhere—Africa, the South Pole, the moon—but nothing was going to stop them from a little exploring. He took her hand and helped her past the folding doors.

There was always something new to find, even if it was just a different way of travelling.


	12. Rose's Theme

"What's that you're humming?"

"Hm?" The Doctor looked up from his book.

"You were just humming something."

"I was? I don't think—"

"There, I heard it again." Between the crinkle of the armchair and the hum of the fan hung a softer, trembling sound.

"Then it couldn't be me, could it?" He slipped a bookmark between the pages and stood up. He had his listening face on—head tilted, eyes narrowed, mouth cracked open as if to taste the air. "Let's go find it." Rose turned around and located the sound.

"That direction." They followed it, Rose stopping every once in a while to narrow down the position of the song. When they found the source, neither one of them could speak. It came from a small sphere among dozens of others, but the one making the music was the only one glowing. Soft green notes floated out of the object and melted into the air. Rose and The Doctor stared at it, spellbound.

"I just felt…no, it's nothing."

"Doctor?"

"Well, what if I—" He paused, swallowed. "What if I wanted to tell you something but didn't have enough time?" He tugged on the tips of his fingers.

"Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"I…no." He opened and closed his hands at his sides. "Nothing you don't already know." Rose turned, about to walk away. Then she stopped.

"Doctor? You can tell me something even if I know it." He nodded.

"Well, yes—"

"That way I can hear how much you mean it. It's nice." She smiled at him. "To get a reminder sometimes." The melody faded. Silence crept into the room, but not for long. The two of them had something to talk about.


	13. The Doctor's Nightmare

_A/N: Requested by DragonsAddicted. _

* * *

He slept, his coat pooled on the TARDIS floor. He'd been like this recently, sneaking around sleep like a child afraid to step on shadows, but it caught up to him after Rose went to bed, when he was restless and lost and alone.

He tightened his arms around the wishbone shaped pole.

"Gallifrey," he said, his voice leeching onto the last sparks of his energy. "I can't…"

_He looked down at his hands, wrinkled like the musty fabric of an old suit. They were all he could control, these hands. The Doctor got the sense that they made up all that was left of him. He opened them, closed them. _

"What..."

_His home planet materialized between his fingers. Saving them was simple—all he had to do was hold on and his people would never know another day of destruction. But his hands had seen too much. They had catalyzed the beginnings of too many deaths and now they were forgetting how to heal_.

"Please—" He coiled his arms around the TARDIS's support.

_"You will never be able to change this." A voice settled into the background. He knew without thinking that it was his own. _

Rose rubbed her eyes as she walked into the console room. The Doctor slept, slumped against a column. She knelt next to him. Shaking him awake was dangerous—she'd tried it once. He'd woken up scared and frantic, clawing at the air. She didn't want to think about what was in his dreams that frightened him so much.

Rose shook her head. It was his past. It was always his past that took away his perspective, but she knew how to get it back. She took his hand.

"I'm here, Doctor," she said, her voice clear against the hums of the TARDIS. "It's Rose." He shifted, struggling against his dream.

_"You will never be able to change this. You will never be able to—"_

"Doctor, I'm here." Her voice cracked, and she swallowed to strengthen herself.

_His hands crumbled and Gallifrey fell into the flames. _

The Doctor gasped awake and yanked his arms from the pole.

"I thought I lost—" He looked around, his eyes darting from corner to console to Rose. The silence stretched between them, suspended by thumbtacks. Rose moved her hand to his and stroked his palm with her thumb. "Gallifrey," he said finally.

_The home you've already lost, _Rose though to herself. She scooted closer and tilted her head to meet his eyes.

"I'm not Gallifrey. I am not your past and I can't fix it." She looked at him ruefully. "But I can be your future for a bit. And I can always be your present." She took his hand between hers. "I can be your now, Doctor," she whispered.

She waited for a response, slow minutes inching by. She made a move to get up, but The Doctor closed his fingers around her hand.

"Stay. Please."

So she stayed until he remembered that "now" could be another word for everything.


	14. The Raciest Birthday

The Doctor, Rose, Jack, and Donna play Mario Kart for Rose's 21st birthday. The group quickly forms alliances, but the race doesn't turn out quite as expected. 10/Rose, slight Jack/Donna

Rating: K

Warnings: Slight alcohol mention

* * *

"21! Nice. You can legally drink in a few more planets, babe." The captain raised a glass to her and drained it in a single swig. "Ah, that's the stuff. Time to get this party started."

"You won't be playing any drinking games," The Doctor said, placing a warning hand on Rose's shoulder. "I know how you can get, Captain."

"I can handle myself!" She shot the concerned Doctor a glance. "Let me have a little fun."

"Hey, you two. The arguments come later. I have something else in mind." Donna took off the backpack Jack asked her to carry and dropped it into the floor with a plunk. "Oi! That's delicate!"

"Then what'd you give it to me for?" Rose laughed. Donna wasn't exactly who she expected Jack to end up with, but she had enough fire in her to make a match for the Captain.

"That, my friends, is a relic of 21st century society. A true marvel of engineering and precision. An instant classic!" Jack spoke with solemn reverence, swishing his hands through the air in broad, earnest gestures. The Doctor covered a smile as Rose eyed the bag curiously. Donna shifted from foot to foot.

"Really shouldn't've given that to me, then."

"Hey." He walked over and wrapped an arm snugly around her shoulders. "I'd trust you with my life."

"Well that doesn't mean much, does it?" The trio laughed, and Donna barely managed a glare before softening.

"Let's open it up, shall we?" Rose asked. She rubbed her hands together as she stood above the generic black backpack. Jack pulled out a slim gaming console and a disk and presented the prizes to them with a flourish.

"Mario Kart for the Wii—purchased just for you, my dear." He set it up while Donna blinked in confusion.

"Isn't that a kids' game? This is a 21st, after all."

The Doctor raised a finger. "It's popular—well, kind of a cult classic—well, people get _pretty _competitive over it. Unruly, if you ask me." He clapped his hands. "Which makes it perfect for a bunch of adults! C'mon, Rose Tyler, think you can beat me? I was quite the driving star back in my day."

"Yeah? We'll I've played at my cousin's house and I got pretty good." She mimed turning a wheel in her hands. "I'll shoot green shells at you—those're the dangerous ones, yeah?"

"Red ones, Rose," Jack informed her over his shoulder. "And you guys better pucker up 'cause I've had a lifetime to get better at this game."

"That's what you do in Torchwood?" Rose teased. "Bust aliens and play Mario Kart?"

"In between captures there isn't much else to do," he replied easily. "Doctor! You should be toad."

"Toad? Whatever for? I'm Mario, and I won't take kindly to such insults on my character." The Doctor hovered his cursor above the red-hatted hero and pressed his button.

"Hurry up, boys," Donna called from her spot on the couch. "We're ready to roll."

"That's right we are!" Rose added, a gleeful smile on her face. "We're gonna push you right off Rainbow Road."

"Those two up to something?" Jack asked, his back turned to the pair of grins. "We should team up against them. What d'ya say? Time travelers against companions?"

"While I might have to doubt your terminology," The Doctor said under his voice, pretending to adjust his controller. "I think we've got a deal." He gave his old friend a sharp nod and took his spot in one of the comfy chairs by the TV.

"Ready, Rose? Doctor? Donna?" Greeted by nod and whoops of excitement, Jack advanced to stage selection. "Alright, what're playing?" He started to list the options, enthusiasm turning his voice high, but Rose pressed a button and chose a cup.

"That settles it, doesn't it?" She said with a grin. She turned to Donna, putting a hand on her shoulder as her friend's face turned determined. Jack and The Doctor shared a nod. The battle of a lifetime was just a loading screen away.

* * *

"Not again! Fell off the bloody track," Donna added, mostly to herself. Rose had inched her way to the edge of the couch. She bit her lip in concentration as she maneuvered her kart around a corner.

"It's OK, Donna!"

The Doctor and Jack were weaving between each other and jamming their controllers to the side in an effort to bump the others off the dirt of the track.

"Like it rough, Doctor?" Jack flashed him a quick wink. "I'll just file that away for future reference."

"Don't you dare, Jack."

"Weren't you two boys supposed to be allies?" Donna quipped, gaining on the NPCs. She shot a shell with uncanny precision. "Take that, you mushroom."

"This game destroys allies, Donna," The Doctor shot back, his tongue curled around the corner of his lip, his posture hunched. Rose couldn't help but laugh. The two of them had moved so close to the console that they were a few inches from the screen.

She zoomed through an item box and flicked her eyes to the blue shell in the upper left hand corner. She didn't remember exactly what it was for, but hey, anything was worth a shot.

"You think you're better at this than I am, Doctor?" Jack leaned into his turn and grazed his rival's shoulder.

"Think? Let the results speak for themselves, my immortal."

"My immortal _what_?"

"No, it's…" He struggled to explain as he snuck past Jack's kart. "It's a _really_ bad story."

"Yeah? Remind me to read it one of these days. I've got time."

"Not for long!" His voice rose as he caught sight of the blue shell racing towards him. He slowed down immediately, but Jack followed.

"I'm not letting you get away with this, Doctor!"

"Take the hit, Jack!"

Rose raced around the other karts. She was catching up, almost at the top! She blinked at the two—why had they stopped?

The blue shell pounced on the rivals, taking both of them down. Rose whizzed past the carnage and crossed the finish line.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Donna threw her hands up in the air—she'd long sense dropped her controller in favor of watching the drama.

"I won!" Rose gave a whoop and jumped. "Yeah, did it! Beat you two." She raised her eyebrows at The Doctor. Jack faced him, his mouth parted in shock.

"She won."

"Yep."

"Rose beat us."

"Yep," The Doctor said, ending his word with a pop. "Sure you don't have any alcohol on you, Jack?"

"Hey, I honor your word."

"Pity. This was…"

"Unforgivable." Jack looped an arm around The Doctor's shoulder. "But look at 'em." Donna and Rose clapped their hands and high-fived amid laughter and shouts of success. "Worth it, don't you think?"

The Doctor meet Rose's eye and gave her a slow grin. She returned it, beaming.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. It was on purpose. For this." He gestured to Rose. "Aw, it doesn't matter. It's her birthday. She should'a won."

"What's that, Doctor?" Rose sauntered to him, the rush of victory flushing her cheeks. He took her in his arms.

"Happy Birthday, Rose."


	15. Story Time

Fluff. 10 x Rose. Rose finds The Doctor in the library and asks for a bedtime story.

Rating: K

Warnings: death mention

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose paused in the doorway, pastel pajamas hugging her frame and piling into bundles at her feet. She held a stuffed animal the way any child would, almost careless, fingers clamped around an ear. "Can you tell me a bedtime story?" He rubbed the tiredness from his eyes and beckoned her to come closer.

"What kind of story?" He reached for the bookshelf to his left. "Something from your childhood, perhaps?"

"Something from _yours_." She smiled around the last word, her eyes bold and shy. He settled in his armchair and beckoned her to his side.

"Something of mine," he repeated thoughtfully. Rose hugged the chair's arm, her fingers creeping under the peeling fabric. "OK," he said finally. "I'll tell you a legend. Hope it doesn't give you nightmares," he joked, but Rose just snuggled into his side. He took a breath, remembering, and started the tale.

"Long ago, we—Time Lords—could see time itself." He spun a story of Gallifrey. Time used to be visible, shining in the air and playing in the wind currents. It would rise with the sun and shimmer with the moon, keeping the stars company.

"The children of Gallifrey played with time. Not to manipulate it, but to _play_, like you'd play with a puppy." Rose twined her free hand with The Doctor's. "They'd chase time, running and laughing, and time would chase back." He breathed out the story, lost in memory. Rose watched him, her chin balanced on her hand.

"But time had to go into hiding. No one really knew why, but every child heard a goodbye on the second hour of one day, and then time was gone." He exhaled heavily. "But time didn't forget the Time Lords. They left, yes, but they took another form. They became white point stars, and only those of the lineage of Gallifrey can hold them. They say," he finished, looking over at his companion, "that when you put one to your ear, you can hear time say hello again."

They sat in silence, Rose's head resting against the crook of his neck. "How was that?"

"Is that where you go when you regenerate? The stars?" Rose asked, her eyes closing.

"Yes, Rose." He stroked her hair. "But only if you're the moon." He opened his mouth, ready to remind her that he'll never let that happen, but she was already asleep. The Doctor smiled.

Of course. She already knew.


	16. Lost, But Together

Oneshot. Hurt/Comfort/Angst. Rose/10.

Rating: T

Rose and The Doctor land on an abandoned planet and find a lost soul.

Warnings: death, loneliness, resurrection

* * *

The TARDIS shook with the impact of the landing and, at long last, found a resting place. Rose pried her fingers from a pillar in the console room. She winced, flexing her fingers, and prickles warmed up her skin. The Doctor was already at the door. He looked at the barren landscape, his hands clenching the fabric in his pockets. Rose walked up to him. A puff of air ridden with dust lifted her bangs, and she coughed.

"Stay in here for a minute," The Doctor told her, keeping his eyes focused on a light in the distance. "No," he corrected himself. "Come with me." He pulled a hand from his pockets in an invitation to meet her own, and she took it, not quite intertwining her fingers with his, but almost.

"Is there a moon?" She asked, searching the sky for remnants of a solar system. They took their first steps onto the unknown planet, their shoes crunching against the gravelly path.

"No," he breathed. "We are the moon." He stooped to pick up a handful of the dust and let it crumble between his fingers, swirling in the air before it landed, as if for the first time, onto the ground.

"What's this, Doctor?" He turned to look at Rose. Her hands were cupped, outstretched. Between them hovered a flame. He walked closer, squinting, and pulled out his glasses. Soft music, soft and mourning, sounded from the being in Rose's palm.

"It's a lost soul." He clasped his hands behind his back and stared at it. Rose raised a finger and let the soul chase her. It sparked with excitement, almost doubling in size, and Rose laughed, delighted.

_She's probably the first living being it's ever seen, _The Doctor realized._ How lucky it is to have a life that ends in her. _

"You used to feel like this."

"Hm?" He jolted out of his thoughts. "I suppose. We don't need to think about that."

"No, Doctor." She looked at him earnestly. "This is _you_. Older you."

He looked at the sky, dark stained glass among pinpricks of shooting stars. She linked her arm with hers, still balancing the soul on her shoulder. He was vaguely aware of himself thinking that even broken things could be beautiful for a bit.

"Doctor?" He turned to her finally, his eyes watering at the sight of the soul. It wasn't _him_, not completely, at least. He knew his chest still housed a spirt between his two hearts, but there were pieces missing, ripped every time he betrayed himself.

Rose gently guided his hand to her shoulder. The soul flickered tentatively before inching towards his hand. The Doctor clenched his teeth, waiting. It could be his soul; it certainly _felt _like it. But then what? Would it rejoin him or despise him? What had split him so cleanly, and so much?

When his finger touched the flame, it turned a burning red. It splintered, tumbling into the faint air currents before disappearing entirely. _A mosaic of its own_, The Doctor thought.

He kept his hand on Rose's shoulder for a minute as they watched for other souls. When none came, they walked from the moon and into the TARDIS without speaking.

They left only footprints behind. Away from prying eyes, The Doctor nursed the memories of his older selves. Together, they heard the screeches of war and the acrid sting of loss, and they exchanged forgiveness with each other, penance for what they weren't around to stop and what they were too ignorant to prevent.

And when Rose was asleep and the TARDIS settled into watching over her, he let his selves cry—all of them. They were lost and burdened, bent with the solitude of their separate lives, but tonight they knew where they were.


End file.
